Chapter 1266: Freeze, Quickly Freeze

Xiong sighed repeatedly as he spoke to everyone about his experiences; the main point was that not only had he lost so many Soldiers, but he hadn't managed to gain much profit either. This Huaxia expedition could be said to have been for nothing, which made Xiong feel incompetent and somewhat powerless.

When Chai and the others heard this, they also felt there wasn't much to say. After all, with so many expenses exchanged for only that many Slaves—and looking at their quality, it wasn't even that great—this business venture had indeed suffered a heavy loss.

"Marshal Xiong, let's not talk about this anymore. When do you plan to head back?"

Xiong was warming himself by the fire; his legs were now unwilling to leave the stove. In this kind of weather, his legs could only feel a bit of comfort by relying on the stove.

"Is there any possibility of our Huaxia Large Ship coming over this year? If not, we'll just wait for the Dahe to freeze over and then walk back."

It being this late in the season, Chai wasn't very certain: "It's possible, because those Laborers we hired from the Xuanyuan Tribe haven't returned yet. One or two boats wouldn't be enough to carry them all. At this time of year, it should be time for them to finish their work; they might even be on their way now."

"If Marshal Xiong is not in a hurry, just wait and see for a bit. If they haven't arrived in another ten days or so, you can take that opportunity to ask the Xuanyuan Tribe for a few small boats to head back first; otherwise, you really will have to wait until the Dahe freezes over."

"It's better to send a message by carrier pigeon first to let the King know we have arrived here, so as not to let the King worry. If the King thinks the time is about right, he might just send a boat over."

Chai nodded: "That's true. You write it here, and I'll arrange for someone to get the pigeons. The weather is getting colder and colder; it's hard to bear."

"This damn cold weather, it's unbearable!" An Artisan's teeth began to chatter. They had almost shoved their hands into their crotches; as an Artisan, or rather an Artisan, the most important thing on their body was their hands. If their hands got frostbite, it would be troublesome, and they wouldn't be able to carry out their work.

Frostbite was too common in this era, and when Baifeng was planning to make patent medicines, he included frostbite ointment in the list.

Frostbite is somewhat stubborn; it appears as soon as the weather gets cold, recurring repeatedly, and is very difficult to cure completely. People who have had frostbite before, even if they reach the south where the winter temperature doesn't drop below zero, find it very easy to relapse. This point is very strange.

Many northern folk remedies involve using things like lard, rubbing it on the hands and roasting them over a fire, or using clam oil; in any case, the north and south each have their own methods.

The Baifeng of the past had also specifically searched for such prescriptions to treat his southern girlfriend's frostbite. He found it very strange why a southerner would have frostbite.

The prescription was also very strange: it required the rear dewclaw of a pig, which is the nail on the finger of the pig's hind leg that doesn't touch the ground. If you have seen pigs and other wild beasts, you would find that they actually walk on tiptoe. Many wild beasts are like this; that hanging hoof is vestigial, but it hasn't completely degenerated and has no substantial use.

This prescription also specifically required the hind legs, and this point alone was a bit difficult. He had to search through many pork shops before he finally managed to collect some.

Then, it had to be prepared at midnight, which is the Zi hour, from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. If one wanted to be even more rigorous, one could calculate the true solar time, which is the local time, adding or subtracting to determine when the true Zi hour occurred in one's region.

It was best to light the fire with willow branches, burn them into charcoal, and grind them into powder. The various methods and special restrictions made Baifeng's view on Medicine waver—could this really not be some folk remedy? Yet, the book that recorded it was the "Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Gold." Baifeng knew his own abilities were far inferior to those great physicians of the past, so he could only believe it.

Therefore, in the dead of night when no one was around, he would secretly roast the pig's hoof nails with willow branches. Once the hoof nails turned charred, he would immediately leave, keeping water nearby just to extinguish it in time. He even thought that if it were a day like the Ghost Festival or the Cold Clothes Festival, he could just muddle through it without having to worry or be afraid.

The pig nails were ground into powder, then mixed with rendered lard to make an ointment, which was then applied before warming by the fire. Fortunately, the effect was good, which prevented Baifeng's Dao heart from shattering.

Now Baifeng could also make it, but it was a bit difficult because it wasn't like medicinal wine, where once the prescription was spread, everyone could make it themselves.

Scorpions, centipedes, and some types of snakes could be caught by anyone. Once caught, they could be soaked in Wine and applied, as Wine had already flowed into common households, and it was easy to scrape together some Wine.

However, lard was extremely precious. Even Baifeng liked to eat the fattier parts of meat now rather than pure lean meat. People of this era were in too much need of animal fat.

There were far too many people in Huaxia with frostbite, but far too little lard. Even if one was raising pigs, it still wasn't enough.

A pig only had so much fat on it, and people had to lick their own oily mouths clean when eating; where would there be so much lard to let you make medicine? But pig hoof nails—there were as many as one could want.

This frostbite ointment was destined to become the exclusive property of the Noble. Commoners didn't actually have much need for it, because even if you spent a great price to cure it this year, it might just freeze out again next winter. Why waste that effort? There was no need.

Although Changle was also in this group, he didn't feel cold because he was sitting inside an ox cart. This ox cart had a carriage body; although it wasn't made with four wheels and swayed violently, it wasn't cold, and it could block the wind.

Glass was installed on both sides, allowing light to pass through. If it was too dizzying or stuffy, he could open the rear carriage door to let in some air. If the wind was blowing from back to front, he could also open the front door; there was always one side that was sheltered from the wind.

Having been pampered since childhood, Changle had no chance to get frostbite. As soon as the weather turned cold, he would put on chipmunk-fur gloves. The fur was small, but the feel was good, and the insulation effect was also good; one pair of gloves required several chipmunks to make.

His clothes were also the best he could wear—hat, ear muffs, collar, shoes—everything was both warm and good-looking, providing all-around protection that allowed Changle to pass his first dozen years safely.

In Baifeng's words, the body is the foundation of everything. As long as you live longer than others, you have won. If others bullied you before, you can still be alive to pee on their corpses.